Envisioning a better future, setting worthy goals, and following through with sustainable impact first and foremost requires leading yourself. Often leadership is a lonely road. And to keep ourselves inspired, motivated, and energized we need to lead ourselves with our heart, purpose, and devotion.

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): As the late Stephen Covey so eloquently stated, "personal leadership is not a singular experience. It is, rather, the ongoing process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with those most important things."

You can have the wisdom of your 95-year-old you, and can use it! Know that you need to be happy now, to enjoy your friends and family, and to follow your dreams! Let the journey begin.

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): First imagine you’re 95 years old. You’re just about to die. You’re given a gift. To go back in time, to this moment and to tell yourself what was really important and what wasn’t, what really mattered and what didn’t. What advice would this wise “old you” have for the “you” who is reading this page?

Take your time. Answer this question on two levels: personal advice and professional advice. Jot down a few words that capture what the old you would say to the young you.

Once you’ve written these words down, the rest is simple: Just do whatever you wrote down. Make it your resolution for the rest of the current year, and the next. You have just defined your “there”!

(From the article): First imagine you’re 95 years old. You’re just about to die. You’re given a gift. To go back in time, to this moment and to tell yourself what was really important and what wasn’t, what really mattered and what didn’t. What advice would this wise “old you” have for the “you” who is reading this page?

Take your time. Answer this question on two levels: personal advice and professional advice. Jot down a few words that capture what the old you would say to the young you.

Once you’ve written these words down, the rest is simple: Just do whatever you wrote down. Make it your resolution for the rest of the current year, and the next. You have just defined your “there”!

(From the article): First imagine you’re 95 years old. You’re just about to die. You’re given a gift. To go back in time, to this moment and to tell yourself what was really important and what wasn’t, what really mattered and what didn’t. What advice would this wise “old you” have for the “you” who is reading this page?

Take your time. Answer this question on two levels: personal advice and professional advice. Jot down a few words that capture what the old you would say to the young you.

Once you’ve written these words down, the rest is simple: Just do whatever you wrote down. Make it your resolution for the rest of the current year, and the next. You have just defined your “there”!

Being uncivil at work is the rudeness equivalent of sneezing and hacking all over your colleagues.

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): Reading this research one could be compelled to ask: are we currently suffering from an rudeness epidemic, passing around the incivility bug like a classroom full of coughing and sneezing kids? While the root causes of bad workplace behavior are probably multiple, this study is enough to suggest that if your place of employment is the scene of lots of stress-inducing unkindness, you might want to consider a quarantine, consciously recognizing the ability of rudeness to spread and stepping away to regroup when you experience it so as to keep one incident from inciting another.

I have never worked in a "hostile" environment until this year at both of my jobs. It is all minor, but I've always got along and clicked with my coworkers. At one of my jobs my boss is nasty to us employees when things go wrong, and just plain rude. When I try to explain myself in why I did something the way I did, she gets irritated and her tone of voice rises and turns angrily. I really don't enjoy working for her and it makes me want to leave my job. I don't leave my job because my benefits outweigh this issue. At my second job I had a coworker that I just didn't click with. It was hard for me to not be short with him because I just didn't see eye to eye with him in most circumstances.

(From the article): Reading this research one could be compelled to ask: are we currently suffering from an rudeness epidemic, passing around the incivility bug like a classroom full of coughing and sneezing kids? While the root causes of bad workplace behavior are probably multiple, this study is enough to suggest that if your place of employment is the scene of lots of stress-inducing unkindness, you might want to consider a quarantine, consciously recognizing the ability of rudeness to spread and stepping away to regroup when you experience it so as to keep one incident from inciting another.

(From the article): Denying the existence of differences between men and women (or boys and girls) was a useful phase we had to go through. It got us to here. Now that the reality of gender has changed, so should our approach. Managers – both male and female – should embrace the differences and get everyone to succeed.

Don't wait until tomorrow to be happy. Happiness will help bring you the success you want--today, and every day.

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): Successful people are authentic with themselves and with others. They acknowledge that lying can cause tremendous damage in their personal and professional relationships. They want to live a happy life, and telling the truth is part of it; it allows them to be respected and trusted.

These are just 5 things to play with in the land of "doing" and "being" to build stronger relationships

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): These are just 5 things to play with in the land of "doing" and "being" to build stronger relationships. Used with positive intent, these become personal Super Powers. There are so many more. What else would you add?

An overlooked way to sound more authoritative. Regardless of your gender or voice, how do you harness the power of breathing in order to speak with confidence and power?

donhornsby's insight:

Fantastic advice for anyone who speaks...

(From the article): It’s not about trying to sound like someone else; it’s about giving your voice the richness and fullness it deserves every single time you speak in public, so that the power of your voice matches the power of your words. If you do that, people will listen.

We only have so many hours in the day, and if it's between a trail run or a client meeting, I'll reschedule the meeting. Here's why.

donhornsby's insight:

If don't have your health - you can lead, serve, guide, manage, or influence anyone.

(From the article): As my business grows, I see members of my team falling into the same trap I did. That’s why we’re working to institute health incentives, and why I’m not ashamed to talk about the time I take out of my work day to exercise. I know that if my team members put exercise and health before their jobs, they might work fewer hours, but they’ll feel better about themselves, have more fulfilling lives and they’ll produce better results with the hours they do work.

Some employees just seem to be ahead of the curve and reap the rewards. Here's how to be that person.

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): THEY MAKE SPACE FOR BIGGER THINKING

Keeping some open time in the day, such as scheduling time between meetings and blocks of time for simply thinking or working on projects that require concentration, can also supercharge performance, Halpin says. Super-employees are vigilant about scheduling everything from daily meetings to big projects to ensure that they have the best possible chance at a successful outcome.

"Sometimes, it’s just very practical actions—getting to places early, not rushing from meeting to meeting if you can help it—to give yourself time to do what you need to do. That may be thinking about the purpose of your next meeting, or getting a snack or drink so you’re not hungry or thirsty," she says. Being harried, distracted, hungry, or otherwise uncomfortable because you’re too rushed is not going to allow you to do your best work and be most insightful, she adds.

If you're like me, you think more about getting fit when the days start to require less clothes. What if you also used summertime as a time to pay a bit more attention to your leadership fitness? S...

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): How many times have you seen someone go to a leadership training, come back all fired up, and then go right back to their old habits a few days later? Pick one or two leadership behaviors you want to improve, and practice them consistently every day. This could be something as simple as “I’m going to ask more strategic questions to get my team thinking.” Or, “I’m going to wait until others have had a chance to speak in meetings until I chime in.”

(From the article): Leadership is noticing talent, nurturing and developing it, demonstrating that efforts to work hard will not go unnoticed, leading from the front, motivating and inspiring, creating a vision and striving for it as a united team. No-one said being a leader was easy, but it can certainly be rewarding. So whether you are new to being a leader, or more experienced, try cultivating the five habits of leadership in your working week, you team will thank you for it.

Why not a community manager in residence? Or, better yet, community director in residence or community strategist in residence?

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): A talented community executive is a tremendous asset for an early stage company. Engineering, growth and community are all equally important areas. As I write, there are zero Google search results for “community manager in residence.” Similar titles bring up nothing related to the idea.

It would be worthwhile for venture capitalists (and others) to experiment in this area and bring community professionals into the equation.

What drives leadership performance? Is it having the right principles or the right mindset? Some may say neither do.

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): Millennials should not be feared or classified into some negative box. Instead, Millennials should be encouraged to develop their leadership mindsets and principles. Older generations can learn from the Millennial mindset and share experiences on leadership principles that worked.

Millennials can learn from the leadership principles of older generations and leverage them to keep their mindsets on track.

When generations come together, a leadership gap is prevented. By sharing experiences and adopting ideas that work, leaders gain strength with refreshed mindsets and renewed principles – an essential obligation of each generation.

Equally important, the right mindset and principles will set the stage for effective leadership performance. Taking the time to embrace an engaging mindset in how to approach situations and problems is an essential first step. Next, defining the principles to keep your preferred mindsets on track is necessary to deliver performance that activates a team and organization.

(From the article): Millennials should not be feared or classified into some negative box. Instead, Millennials should be encouraged to develop their leadership mindsets and principles. Older generations can learn from the Millennial mindset and share experiences on leadership principles that worked.

Millennials can learn from the leadership principles of older generations and leverage them to keep their mindsets on track.

When generations come together, a leadership gap is prevented. By sharing experiences and adopting ideas that work, leaders gain strength with refreshed mindsets and renewed principles – an essential obligation of each generation.

Equally important, the right mindset and principles will set the stage for effective leadership performance. Taking the time to embrace an engaging mindset in how to approach situations and problems is an essential first step. Next, defining the principles to keep your preferred mindsets on track is necessary to deliver performance that activates a team and organization.

No one on your team should expect or encourage mind reading. Instead, spell things out — and ask that your team members do the same.

donhornsby's insight:

Make it easy for your team members to understand what you want. Be generous about answering their questions, make their understanding a priority, and foster an environment of open communication and information sharing. You can do that by modeling the behavior above. You can also applaud people when they make efforts to fully inform their colleagues and keep them in the loop.

No one on your team should expect or encourage mind reading. Instead, spell things out — and ask that your team members do the same.

(From the article): Creating workplace collaboration isn’t as simple as just telling employees to work together. Instead, managers must give their teams specific tools, then oversee how they are being used.

“We often tell people to work together, but we don’t tell them how,” said E Allan Lind, professor of leadership at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, North Carolina. “First, we have to be mindful that people working together is not a normal state of things.”

Managers must show how good ideas come out of working together. They must also demonstrate that real collaboration equals innovation, and be on the watch for communication breakdowns.

How do you distract yourself from your distractions and get back to work?

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): It helps me to appreciate the power of distraction and put it to work for me. I do not try to force myself not to be distracted, but find ways to distract myself from distractions. The more I can see the attractive, engaging aspects of what I do, the more I pay attention.

Looking for the ways work draws me in helps me work more effectively. It is almost as if working is a game we play to distract us from our distractions.

(From the article): Steamrollers can destroy your organization’s culture if you don’t get them to stop behaving badly. You may have glossed over these issues in the past – “that’s just how they are” – so be disciplined in the future about giving a balanced rating and meting out consequences.

Every entrepreneur needs a value proposition statement for his or her startup that can hook potential investors and partners in less than a minute -- the short time you might join them in an elevator on the way to their offices. This may sound easy, but every investor I know is frustrated by wasted time listening to rambling, emotional pitches that are not to the point.

Passionate entrepreneurs tend to talk on and on about their disruptive technology, their intent to change the world and free services, but if a business can’t provide quantifiable value to real customers, the dream will likely turn into a nightmare. The better you understand what makes an effective elevator pitch, the more likely you will attract investors and customers.

(From the article): An entrepreneur’s elevator pitch embodies the value proposition that is being brought to customers, as well as investors and partners. Don’t hide it behind too many words, an urge to stay in the spotlight longer or unbridled passion. Catch the elevator up to make it a business.

The Networking Email Template That Gets Answers - The Muse: All you have to do is fill in the blanks.

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): You should definitely research people before you ask them to interviews. Not only will knowing their backgrounds help during the actual conversation, but you’ll usually find tidbits you can drop into your ask to make it more compelling. After scrolling through a CEO’s recent Twitter history, I found a post raving about a Brooklyn taco spot. When I asked her to meet me, I proposed going to that very taco spot. She agreed with far more enthusiasm than she likely would’ve if I’d asked her to meet at Starbucks.

On a different occasion, I saw a content strategist I was interested in contacting had spoken on a panel about inbound marketing. So in that email, I wrote, “I’d love to learn more about inbound marketing best practices and how to use location-specific strategies.”

By making a little extra effort, your request will be much more impressive.

(From the article): Temptation bundling offers a simple way to accomplish these tasks that are always important, but never feel urgent. By using your guilty pleasures pull you in, you make it easier to follow through on more difficult habits that pay off in the long-run.

(From the article): For organizations dealing with this kind of toxic or vengeful behavior, there are really only two options for preserving your innovative culture: reformation or termination. If you envision that the resentful party can still be a positive contributor, point out the unacceptable behavior while reaffirming your commitment to that individual. If the individual is unable or unwilling to reform, then they have to be removed. No scientist would ever endanger the outcome of an experiment by allowing toxins to build up in their cell culture, nor should any organization, manager, or mayor, tolerate toxic behavior spoiling the positive effects of an innovative culture.

54 percent of good employees are more likely to quit when they work with a toxic employee. Don't let it happen to you.

donhornsby's insight:

(From the article): While no one can have a good attitude every single minute of every single day, toxic employees seem to have a bad attitude all day long. Not only that, but they are never truly happy until they put everyone else in a bad mood, too.

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